Monday, March 1, 2010

FP morning post 3/1

Aftershocks hit Chile as death toll tops 700

Top story: Three aftershocks hit Chile today, compounding the damage done by a massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake that hit the country on Saturday. More than two million people have been displaced from their homes.Most of the deaths took place in the coastal Maule region, which was also slammed by a Tsunami following the quake.

President Michelle Bachelet has given the military control over Maule and neighboring Concepcion and ordered troops to help deliver food and relief supplies. Defense Minister Francisco Vidal admitted that the navy had made a mistake in not immediately activating the country's Tsunami alert system following the initial quake.

With Concepcion's 500,000 residents cut off from food and water, looting has broken out and soldiers have fired tear gas to control the crowds. A curfew has been imposed on the quake-hit areas.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will go ahead with a planned stop in Chile on Tuesday as part of a tour of Latin America. She will meet with Bachelet, who leaves office on March 11, as well as her successor Sebastian Pinera.

Olympics aftermath: President Dmitry Medvedev called on Russian Olympic officials to resign over the country's poor performance in the Vancouver games.